Oswald West

Oswald West ( born May 20, 1873 in Guelph, Canada, † August 22 1960 in Portland, Oregon ) was an American politician and from 1911 to 1915 the 14th Governor of the State of Oregon.

Early years and political rise

Even as a small child came Oswald West with his parents to Salem, Oregon. There he attended the public schools until 1889. Then he began to work in a bank. During the Klondike Gold Rush in Alaska was also West for six months to the California gold fields.

Between 1903 and 1907, served as head of the Western land administration authority of Oregon. In this capacity he was about 4000 square kilometers of land that had been sold through fraud, get back to the state. In 1907 he became a member of the railroad committee for four years. In 1910 he was elected as a candidate of the Democratic Party as the new governor of his state. He beat off the Republican incumbent Jay Bowerman by what a vote share of 46.6 per cent was enough because candidates of smaller parties came together on almost twelve percent of the vote.

Governor of Oregon

West took up his new post on January 11, 1911. In his four-year tenure, the women's suffrage was introduced. In addition, some labor laws were improved and anchored the still common in the U.S. area code system law in Oregon. Governor West was an almost fanatical supporters of the Prohibition movement. For this reason, an alcohol ban was enacted. This went so far that he martial law in the city Copperfield imposed on New Years Eve 1913, in order to prevent the consumption of alcohol. This approach attracted nationwide attention.

Regardless of the governor sat very involved in environmental protection. He also questioned the beaches along the Pacific coast under protection and reserved it for the public. At that time was also a separate department for the management of forests ( Forestry ). West campaigned for a thorough reform of the penal system.

Another Journey

In 1914, Oswald West not strive for second term. Therefore, he resigned on January 12, 1915 from office. After the end of his governorship, he worked as a lawyer. In 1918, he competed unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. In the following years he wrote articles in various newspapers across all areas of public life. In the 1930s, he was an adviser to Governor Charles Martin. After a heart attack in 1945, he finished his profession and retired finally back into retirement. He died in 1960. Oswald West was married to Mabel Hutton, with whom he had three children.

In his honor, the Short Sands Beach State Park was renamed in 1956 in Oswald West State Park.